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anyone lived in a pretty how town-1.pdf, Study notes of Poetry

“anyone lived in a pretty how town” is an archetype of Cummings' work, and its analysis is an excellent starting point into discovering how language and grammar ...

Typology: Study notes

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LING 324: A love story about quantifiers
How do quantifiers differ from proper names?
by e. e. cumming s
anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn 't he danced his did.
Women and men (both little and small)
cared for anyon e not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain
children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more
when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her
someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hop e and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream
stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to rememb er
with up so floating many bells down)
one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stoop ed to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was
all by all and deep by deep
and more by mo re they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.
Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain
From Complete Poems: 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings, edited by George J. Firmage.
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LING 324: A love story about quantifiers How do quantifiers differ from proper names? by e. e. cummings anyone lived in a pretty how town (with up so floating many bells down) spring summer autumn winter he sang his didn't he danced his did. Women and men (both little and small) cared for anyone not at all they sowed their isn't they reaped their same sun moon stars rain children guessed(but only a few and down they forgot as up they grew autumn winter spring summer) that noone loved him more by more when by now and tree by leaf she laughed his joy she cried his grief bird by snow and stir by still anyone's any was all to her someones married their everyones laughed their cryings and did their dance (sleep wake hope and then)they said their nevers they slept their dream stars rain sun moon (and only the snow can begin to explain how children are apt to forget to remember with up so floating many bells down) one day anyone died i guess (and noone stooped to kiss his face) busy folk buried them side by side little by little and was by was all by all and deep by deep and more by more they dream their sleep noone and anyone earth by april wish by spirit and if by yes. Women and men(both dong and ding) summer autumn winter spring reaped their sowing and went their came sun moon stars rain From Complete Poems: 1904- 1962 by E. E. Cummings, edited by George J. Firmage.

Some criticism from the web http://articles.poetryx.com/5/ anyone lived in a pretty how town by e.e. cummings by Jough Dempsey Modern poetry comes in many flavours. Anything can be considered a proper poem, and poets are free to write in many differing styles about an infinite variety of subjects. However, that freedom comes with responsibility. Modern poets must make certain that their readers are not abandoned by the poem’s form or content. Poetry can be abstract, but it is never allowed to be sloppy. The sheer amount of poetry written this century offers readers many alternatives, and poets must be as vigilant as ever not to alienate readers. Being able to experiment in form while remaining accessible is one of the more difficult balancing acts that modern poets can perform, and when they accomplish a synthesis between form and expression, readers recognize the poem’s success. One Modern poet who is quite successful in this synthesis is E.E. Cummings, who may be considered one of the most experimental poets of the century. Cummings’s manipulation of syntax and grammar is extraordinary, and rarely serves to alienate the reader because Cummings pays careful attention to how words function in language. He may use what is commonly considered a “verb” as a proper noun, or may make an adjective a conjunction, but usually the meaning behind the words, and the poem, is quite clear. He rarely titled his poems, but critics have gotten around this by referring to Cummings’s poems by their first lines. “anyone lived in a pretty how town” is an archetype of Cummings’ work, and its analysis is an excellent starting point into discovering how language and grammar function in Cummings’s poetry. The plot of “anyone lived in a pretty how town” is simple, but it is in the subtle language choices that this poem succeeds. The story begins with “anyone,” which can be considered a proper noun for a specific person here. The term “pretty how town” is analogous with the phrase “pretty soft rug” where “how” is an adjective, and “pretty” is a degree modifier of that adjective. Anyone is a man who is loathed by the “Women and men,” or the “someones” and “everyones,” of the town, because he is different than they are. Only the children of the town could recognize the love of “Anyone” and “Noone,” but even they begin to fear and despise Anyone’s individuality as “down they forgot as up they grew.” Anyone and Noone are buried side by side, as the townspeople carry on in their mechanized fashion, having learned nothing from Anyone and Noone. Cummings does not pretend to be ignorant of the ordinary meanings of the words he uses, and instead plays with the confluence of his own invented grammar with standard English usage. He uses “Anyone” as a proper noun, but is aware that this person isn’t just anyone , and describes his relationship with Noone by playing with the use of “Anyone,” writing that “anyone’s any was all to her.” Cummings shows us that Noone appreciates Anyone’s individuality through this line. His “any” is contrasting with the “some” or “every” of the rest of the town, and it is in this linguistic particularity that Cummings is able to give Anyone a uniqueness. Cummings gives Anyone and Noone an emotional authenticity that the rest of the town don’t share, by showing how Anyone “sang his didn’t he danced his did” and how Noone “laughed his joy she cried his grief” which contrasts greatly with the confusion of the someones and everyones, who “laughed their cryings and did their dance.” Rhythmically, the poem can be considered to be written in free verse, although there is a certain regularity in the stanzas that refer to Anyone and Noone that does not exist in the stanzas that